Modern society = Anxiety
We accumulate material possessions we don’t need to fill a void they can’t fill.
We collect social status to impress people whose company we don’t enjoy.
We chase after wealth to provide an inner peace it can’t give.
No wonder we’re always anxious. But here’s the truth it is not morally wrong to accumulate possessions, collect social status, or chase money.
Truth be told
We require material possessions to live whether that be a house, car, laptop, shoe, spear, bowl, or knife.
Social status is embedded in everything we do. Even if you’re the CEO, you report to the board. Social hierarchy is a form of order that is found in all human activities.
Wealth buys time and freedom. It allows us to do the things we want to do when we want to do them. There is peace in this sense—but we are after eternal peace.
The never-ending anxiety comes from us doing these things for the wrong reason. None of the above will help us find happiness. We know this from observing celebrities and other icons. Happiness evades us when we seek it through external means: possessions, status, and wealth.
But happiness is that which all our actions are directed towards.
And self-mastery is the condition for happiness.